Music Education Council:
One Voice for Music Education

The Music Education Council believes in universal inclusion and access to a quality, sustained, progressive and personalised lifelong music education in school, community and home.

Integration and creativity are at the heart of music education alongside effective collaborations and partnerships.

MEC Seminar: Progression, Musicality and the Future

When: Thursday 3rd May, 9.30am – 4.30pm
Where: NCVO, Regent’s Wharf, All Saints Street, London, N1 9RL

The Music Education Council is the voice of music education. Its lively and thought-provoking seminars are the place for music educators to come together to share their views. The work of these seminars then feeds into our discussions with key stakeholders including government. So it is essential that as a MEC member you make use of this opportunity to formulate policy for music education.

MEC’s next seminar will focus on taking forward Ofsted’s latest report on music teaching. We will specifically look at two key areas:

• “Musical sound as the dominant language of musical teaching and learning” (Ofsted, March 2012). What does this mean and how do we make this happen?

• Musical progression can take many forms – so what are the common factors at work within musical progression?

We have a fantastic keynote speaker lined up: Dr. Helena Gaunt, Assistant Principal at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, will kick start the seminar at 10am. In the afternoon, we have Paul Harris, one of the UK’s leading educationalists, who will be setting the scene for discussions around musical progression. 

For more information and to book, please contact Wendy Jackson, General Manager on admin@mec.org.uk.

MEC: What We Believe

All children should have the opportunity to learn to play an instrument and sing in school

• Music must remain integral to the national educational strategy and remain part of the national curriculum.
• Music supports attainment in numeracy and literacy and MEC will ensure that Head Teachers and community leaders understand its importance in living a well balanced and enriching life.

Government and ring-fenced funding for music education must remain in place to 2015

• Music education is a front line service and funding must be maintained, targeted and sustained for long-term results.
• Ring-fenced funding must be available for local authorities to deliver a wide range of inclusive, high quality learning opportunities.
• We must not return to the 1990s when the partial devolution of funding away from local authorities led to the shrinkage of music provision.

We must develop the workforce for the future

• We need a skilled workforce to provide music in every school and community so that people of all ages have access to the best music education possible, whether formal or informal.

Position statement by Deborah Annetts, Chair of MEC

Music education, with all its multi faceted opportunities, MUST be an entitlement for all young people.

Do you remember that WOW factor, when the hairs on the back of your neck stood up and the tears stung the back of your eyes as you were blown away by young people's music making?

Perhaps as a teacher or parent you recall that child who may not excel but whose life has been transformed and enriched through meaningful musical experiences.

Our current music curriculum, in its widest sense, brings something unique to young people's lives and to their learning and the profession has worked hard to achieve this. Consider a world for our young people if these opportunities were no longer available as an entitlement for ALL children? We cannot stand by and allow music education to return to an impoverished curriculum and music making reduced to instrumental tuition that is the domain of those who can afford it.

Young people's music making in the UK sets the standard for the rest of the world.

This position statement invites all sectors of music education to unite in supporting the Music Education Council to spell out this message not just to government but the public at large.

These are economically challenging times and education, like all other government departments, will experience serious cuts in funding. We all need to be VERY VOCAL in transmitting this message where ever and to whom ever we can. Talk and write to head teachers, to your local councillors, to your local newspapers and to your MPs so we make sure this wonderful heritage is not lost to the current and future generations of young people.